Novel Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Enantioseparation of Tefluthrin via a Box-Behnken Design and Its Stereoselective Degradation in Soil.

A simple and eco-friendly dispersive solid-phase extraction method coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of the chiral pesticide tefluthrin in food and environmental samples. The response surface methodology was applied to optimize separation conditions. The elution order of tefluthrin enantiomers was Z-cis-(1S,3S)-(-)-tefluthrin and Z-cis-(1R,3R)-(+)-tefluthrin on a Lux Cellulose-1 chiral column was identified via a polarimeter and vibrating circular dichroism. The average recoveries in five matrices ranged from 76.9 to 107.6%, with intraday relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 15.6% and interday RSDs less than 12.5% for two enantiomers. The enantioselective degradation was investigated via laboratory incubation experiments. Slightly enantioselective degradation was observed under aerobic conditions; (1S,3S)-tefluthrin degraded preferentially with the enantiomer fraction value of 0.57 at 120 days of incubation. No remarkable enantioselective degradation was observed under anaerobic and sterile conditions. It was the first time that pyrethroid pesticides were determined at the enantiomer levels via UPLC-MS/MS. This novel method was successfully applied for the enantioselective analysis of tefluthrin enantiomers in authentic samples, indicating its efficacy in investigating the environmental stereochemistry of tefluthrin in the food web and environment. It is of crucial importance to improve risk assessment and regulation of chiral pesticides in an agricultural system.